


Before

by peppermintquartz



Series: Bane and Blake [5]
Category: Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-27
Updated: 2013-03-27
Packaged: 2017-12-06 17:37:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermintquartz/pseuds/peppermintquartz





	Before

Bane emerges from the soft trance of pain back to blinding consciousness.

Blake is there, but he is seated in the armchair away from the bed. He looks up as soon as he sees that Bane is awake, and he crosses over to examine the large man, his calloused fingers hovering over Bane's cheek. The former terrorist closes his eyes and gives a minute shake of his head. It's still too early for contact.

Bane hears the soft sigh and then footsteps that lead back to the corner of the room.

 

_Talia used to touch him on the arm after the medicines have been changed, refreshed. It stung when her soft skin came in contact with his own, in that small interval before the drugs numb his system, but he had always been grateful for her touch._

_Monster he might have become in her service, but she never once turned away from her protector._

 

Robin John Blake has secrets, and some are known by a select few. No one knows however of the stifled screams that Bane makes when the old agony surges past his control, not even Bane, because the older man is usually too far gone by then to be cognizant of his own actions.

The first time it occurred Blake tried to soothe Bane. He was rewarded by being thrown across the room. He wasn't too injured because his lover, when suffering from the pain, is debilitated and weaker. A few bruises were all that showed for that incident, and Blake explained it away as a perk of Nightwing's job when Bane noticed.

Now Blake just watches to make sure that Bane doesn't crack his skull or injure himself in the initial thrashing. There are stages to these incidents. Blake has learned to recognize them.

The first is always a sudden tensing of Bane's body, as though preparing itself for battle.

Then there is the struggle as Bane tries to reassert his mind's iron control over the insistent burn of his nerves. He almost always loses, though sometimes Blake can help support Bane's efforts.

After that, the big man will collapse into something like a deliberate coma, submerging his consciousness into blessed sleep while the nerves wrack his large frame. Blake will watch the twitches and the thrashing - by this time it is too late for soothing - and when the motions finally still, Blake covers Bane with a blanket.

Finally, after a while the agony fades away to a tolerable roar (Bane's own description to Blake) and Bane's mind once again takes control.

 

_"You are not weak, but your body makes demands that not even you, my friend, can deny." Talia smiled and touched his arm. "Let Barsad work his magic. His concoctions will ease the burn."_

_Bane shut his eyes and gave in. He would put on the mask, become who she needed him to be._

_She needed a warrior, not a lover or a protector. She needed a burning sword._

_He would become that for her._

Bane sometimes thinks that Blake is too gentle for his own good, too soft or too tender to truly withstand the darkness.

Yet, whenever he returns from the cradle of unconsciousness, he sees the conviction and love in Blake's eyes. He can practically taste the younger man's concern, and sometimes he wants to wrap Blake up in his arms and tell him that yes, Bane understands and appreciates his loyalty and protection. He thinks of Talia's own unwavering belief in him. Bane knows himself to be strong, but he is glad that he knows stronger people.


End file.
